A Bismarck social worker on Tuesday announced her plans to campaign as a Democrat against state Rep. Laurie Rushing, a three-term incumbent Republican from Hot Springs.
In a brief phone call ahead of a planned kickoff rally Tuesday evening at the Hot Spring County Courthouse, Joyce Schimenti said she decided to run for the state House seat in District 26 after watching several of her patients lose their health care coverage when Arkansas imposed a work requirement on enrollees in the state's Medicaid expansion program.
The next general election is November 2020.
Rushing voted along with almost every other Republican in the House to impose the work requirement in 2017.
A federal judge put the work requirement on hold earlier this year, though more than 18,000 enrollees in the state's Medicaid expansion program lost coverage while the requirement was in place. The expansion, known as Arkansas Works, provides health insurance to about 250,000 low-income Arkansans.
"I support everybody having a ticket and access to health care," said Schimenti, who is the head of quality assurance at Counseling Clinic Inc. in Benton.
Rushing didn't return a call seeking comment Tuesday. Her fellow Republicans have questioned the state's share of the costs in expanding Medicaid.
During her three terms in the House, Rushing has pushed for legislation to secure visitation rights for grandparents. Those efforts resulted in "Tara's Law," Act 679, being signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson earlier this year.
The law was named for Rushing's daughter, the late Tara Watts. Rushing has stated that she's been kept from visiting her grandchildren after her daughter's death.
On other legislation, however, Schimenti said Rushing had failed to take a position on behalf of the constituents of House District 26. The district covers parts of Hot Spring and Garland counties.
Schimenti pointed to a pay raise for public school teachers that was approved by lawmakers earlier this year. Rushing did not record a vote on the bill during a floor vote.
"In my mind, it's like voting 'no,' but without the courage," Schimenti said.
Schimenti also criticized the Republican-backed income tax cut to high-income Arkansans that was approved during this year's regular session. Rushing voted "present" on the bill, but she told lawmakers in a floor speech that she likely would have supported the bill if she had received information she requested from the governor's office.
The tax cut, which applied to people earning more than $79,300 a year, was unlikely to help very many people in House District 26, Schimenti said.
"In my mind, it was just a surplus giveaway to the wealthiest people in Arkansas," Schimenti said.
The 69-year-old Democrat said in a release that she and her family moved to Bismarck from the Memphis area 22 years ago. While in Tennessee, Schimenti said, she served a term on the School Board in Fayette County.
As a member of her local Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America chapter, Schimenti said, she supports universal background checks for gun purchases and a "red-flag" law that would allow courts to order the confiscation of firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.
If elected, Schimenti said, she would also propose legislation to address "surprise medical bills" by having medical providers arbitrate the cost of unexpected care with insurers.
Metro on 09/05/2019